Leadership Foundations Program 2025

Program snapshot

2025 results

Descriptor

The Leadership Foundations Program (LFP) is a structured year-long development journey designed to build the core capabilities of emerging and current leaders. The program develops leadership effectiveness through progressive stages — from intrapersonal skills to interpersonal influence, people management, and daily leadership excellence — using experiential learning, reflective practice, and targeted skills development within YMCA South Australia’s values-based culture.

Purpose

To cultivate emotionally intelligent, self-aware, and adaptive leaders who can confidently manage themselves and others, foster high-performing teams, and contribute to a positive, inclusive workplace culture.

Cohort personas (typical roles)

Future Leader

First-year People Leader

Experienced Manager

Learning outcomes

• Self-awareness & self-regulation: recognise strengths/values; manage emotions effectively.
• Emotional intelligence in practice: build empathy, trust, and collaboration.
• People & Culture integrity: apply organisational policies and Fair Work principles.
• Communication & work management: clarity, delegation, time & priority management.
• Growth mindset & continuous improvement: seek feedback and apply reflective practice.

Schedule & structure

• Duration: 11 months
• Blocks: 4 blocks (~11 weeks each)
• Per block: 4 LMS + 4 reflective journals + 2×60-min webinars + 1×7-hr F2F

Quarter 1 — Leadership Foundations: Self-Discovery

Topics: VIA strengths, values→behaviours, personal SWOT; foundations for calm, consistent leadership.

Outcome: shared language for strengths and purpose; improved self-regulation.

Quarter 2 — Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

Topics: EI self-assessments, feedback models, conflict tools, team charters.

Outcome: better psychological safety behaviours; earlier, cleaner conflict resolution.

Quarter 3 — People & Culture Mythbusters

Topics: Fair Work micro-learning (hiring, performance, diversity/discrimination), documentation standards, TANDA training; F2F with P&S.

Outcome: uplift in policy confidence; reduced risk of procedural error.

Quarter 4 — Daily Leadership Skills

Topics: Delegation frameworks, presentation skills, prioritisation (Covey/Eisenhower), daily leadership habits.

Outcome: sharper direction-setting, clearer delegation, and stronger follow-through.

Completed (11)

Nicola Woolford, Andrew Truong, Elizabeth Krznaric, Jarrad Thomas Seaman, Lucy Ligertwood, Kelsey Frost, Kyle Diamond, Maria Pereira, Travis Robert Smith, Clarissa Sartain, Erin Wright.

Not yet completed (5) — reasons vs criteria

• Cooper Martin: Journal 50%
• Ankit Rawat: Journal 5%, F2F 50%
• Jessica Guare: Journal 25%, F2F 50%
• Susan Grigg: Journal 25%
• Shayla Mailes: Journal 70%

• Capability uplift: Shared EI and feedback language; greater confidence with Fair Work processes and documentation.
• Operational hygiene: Clearer agendas, improved delegation, and more reliable follow-through reported.
• Culture signals: Increased appreciation behaviours and balanced feedback in practice and journals.

1. Manager sign-off on behaviour change: Line managers confirm one–two observable leadership behaviours at ~60 days post-program.
2. Refocus the curriculum mix: Reduce technical/legislative content (retain essentials); strengthen intra/interpersonal skills.
3. Streamline topics (four → three blocks):
   • Self-Discovery
   • Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
   • Daily Leadership Skills
4. Micro-credential: Internal digital badge on verified completion (lists outcomes and artefacts).

What we heard (qualitative)

• EI & self-awareness: stronger language for triggers; calmer responses under pressure.
• Communication & feedback: role-plays increased confidence for earlier, clearer conversations.
• People & Culture / Fair Work: micro-learning clarified processes; confidence uplift.
• Daily habits: Covey/Eisenhower and delegation tools improved planning and follow-through.
• Delivery: F2F sessions rated highly; minor suggestion to trim some webinar overlap.

Survey snapshots